Nov18

Full House Brew Crew – Me Against You Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 12, 2018 in 2018, Greek Metal, Hard Rock, Reviews, Rock of Angels Records, Hard Rock, 89 comments

“I’m gonna level with all you. I own a Godsmack album. OK, fuck… I own two. But it wasn’t my fault. Where (and when) I grew up, the internet was barely a thing and censorship was real. And I don’t mean the Denver/Snider/Zappa type of censoring (though that existed, too). In my religious hometown, music is sold in the next town over, at Walmart. Which meant there weren’t many options. It was a time when possessing censored versions of Korn, Staind, Godsmack, Slipknot, and (fuck me, again) Nickelback records was rebellious.” The Devil’s photograph!

Clouds – Dor Review

By Steel Druhm on November 12, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Doom Metal, International Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 88 comments

“Life is pain. The human condition is one of brief, fleeting moments of joy hemmed in on all sides by the ever-present specter of death and loss. The loss of loved ones, the loss of safety and comfort as your aging body fails and falls to ruin, and ultimately, the frigid closure of death. Clouds writes every note of their music from this cold place at the edge of mortality, with the debilitating awareness of the darkness that hovers just past our tomorrows.” Cold, hard truths.

Arête – Hymnal Review

By Grymm on November 12, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Reviews, The Fear and the Void Recordings, 49 comments

“I like to think of myself as a somewhat open-minded man-cat. After all, you don’t learn anything about people, places, things, food, and conflicting opinions with blinders on at all times. That said, after five wonderful years writing for Angry Metal Guy, I know what my limits are. Two things raise the hairs on my paws, neck, and face with no effort: one-person black metal and supergroups. So it only makes sense that my last non-Thing You Might Have Missed review of the year would be Hymnal, the debut full-length album by Arête, an American supergroup consisting of band members who all have their own one-man black metal projects.” Too many one-mans.

Supreme Havoc – One and All Review

By Lord Doom on November 11, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Punk, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Punk, Sludge Metal, 33 comments

“I am horrible at cooking. I love a simple recipe involving as few ingredients as possible and minimal effort from the “chef.” Finnish sludge/doom/d-beat rockers Supreme Havoc seem to subscribe to this philosophy as they are composed of only the essential: drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. The quartet has been together since 2014 and has released two EPs, one in 2015 and another in 2016. One and All marks their first full-length album together and after a quick scan of their promo material, I had one question: Is this just a heavier Mastodon with some doom thrown in or have these four Finns made something special out of this idiosyncratic collection of genre tags?” Genre hoggery.

1914 – The Blind Leading the Blind Review

By Holdeneye on November 11, 2018 in 2018, Archaic Sound, Death Metal, Redefining Darkness Records, Reviews, Ukrainian Metal, Death Metal, 125 comments

“Let’s get this part out of the way. 1914 is a Ukrainian metal band that plays songs about German stormtroopers. What could go wrong? It didn’t take much effort to find an interview with founder and vocalist Ditmar Kumar in which he mentions that he’s often asked if 1914 is a Nazi band and drops this quote: “Fuck Nazis and all kind of totalitarian shitheads.” Subtle, but I think we can move on.” Remember the fallen.

Loimann – A Voluntary Lack of Wisdom Review

By Lord Doom on November 10, 2018 in 2018, Argonauta Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Metal, 23 comments

“A Voluntary Lack of Wisdom is smothered in a dense layer of fuzz. But not the delicious tickle of a soft blanket, this is a bed of post-doom fiberglass. Italian three-piece metallers Loimann release this—their third full length—touting it as being more in your face and featuring less complex songwriting than prior efforts. Formed in 2001, it seems a change of direction was in order for this album. Keyboards have been dropped altogether and the harsh vocal quotient has been increased in an effort to provide a more extreme overall result.” Fiberglass-core.

Cripple Bastards – La Fine Cresce da Dentro Review

By Kenstrosity on November 9, 2018 in 2018, Grind, Italian Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Grind, 33 comments

“When I think of grind, the last place to which my mind takes me is Italy. But here I am, in the Piedmont region of the beloved boot-shaped country, whiplashing my upper vertebrae to smithereens with Cripple Bastards. This is their seventh full length since their inception in 1988, but along the way these bastards have also released one single, one live album, seven EPs, and more splits than would grace the stage at a drag queen lip sync competition. Cripple Bastards deal a chaotic brand of grind, unsatisfied with adhering to a single formula. While the band has embraced different influences successfully more often than not, the constant mutation Cripple Bastards undergo makes for an inconsistent discography. The goal, then, is for La Fine Cresce da Dentro to beat Cripple Bastards’ best album: 2008’s Variante Alla Morte.” Wow, he traveled to Italy just to listen to this band? These n00bs are dedicated as hell.

Mentor – Cults, Crypts and Corpses Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 9, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Pagan Records, Polish Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 24 comments

“This will stand as one of the most random introductions I’ve ever written. But the thought sprung to mind and, now, here we go. I dislike the word ‘mentor.’ But not for reasons you might expect. My dislike for the word has nothing to do with a bad experience as/with a mentor or mentee, or anything else along those lines. I hate the word because of how it rolls off my tongue. I’ve heard it pronounced as ‘mentor’ and as ‘menter.’ Yet, I’m incapable of saying the word as others around me say it. Instead, my enunciation transforms me into someone from The Great British Baking Show.” Mentor, mentee, manatee.

Dire Peril – The Extraterrestrial Compendium Review

By Eldritch Elitist on November 9, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Divebomb Records, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 54 comments

“Now, here’s an interesting one: a power metal collaboration, formed of Helion Prime’s Jason Ashcraft and Judicator’s John Yelland, whose existence actually predates its more mainstream offshoots. For the uninitiated, these two bands are some of the most promising newcomers to the US power metal scene. While Helion Prime’s latest effort was something of a disappointment, their debut is a stunner of a record, and Judicator’s At the Expense of Humanity is my favorite power metal record of the current decade. High expectations surround Dire Peril, and as soon as I heard the first singles from The Extraterrestrial Compendium, little could be done to bring them down to realistic levels.” Hype, Helion, Murica.

Revolutio – Vagrant Review

By Saunders on November 8, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, Inverse Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Alt-Metal, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, 22 comments

“When I look back, there’s been a notable lack of quality thrash, aside from the weirdo avant thrash of Voivod’s latest. Maybe my ears have been directed in the wrong places, but the genre in which I cut my teeth on many years ago continues to largely disappoint. So with a flicker of fleeting optimism I jumped on the chance to check out unheralded Italian thrashers Revolutio on their debut platter, Vagrant. But how does it fare? And should you give a shit?” Revolto, resisto.